Royal Albert Hall wins International Live Music Conference Award
16 March, 2009
This weekend saw the Royal Albert Hall win their first ever ‘Arthur Award’ for ‘First Venue to Come into your Head’ at the ILMC’s annual awards dinner. Coming ahead of five other UK and continental concert venues, including Manchester Evening News Arena and O2 Berlin, the Royal Albert Hall was delighted to pick up one of the live industry’s most sought after accolades.
Following the Royal Albert Hall’s recent Pollstar award, this award continues to emphasise the fact that the Hall’s popularity is increasingly recognised by some of the most influential people in the music industry. The nominations for the Awards are decided by a jury of 50 ILMC members and the winners then voted for by a wide range of music industry professionals. The Awards continue to grow in national and international acclaim.
Royal Albert Hall Chief Executive, David Elliott, said,’ we are delighted to win this prestigious award for the first time. This award is testament both to the quality of the events and artists that fill our calendar and to the importance of the high standards of service that every department delivers on a daily basis to performers, event promoters and audiences. We would like to thank all the artist managers, agents and promoters for their continued and valued support of the Hall.”
Of the fantastic and diverse range of international artists and events featured at the Hall in 2008, highlights included the Teenage Cancer Trust concerts with performances by Muse, Paul Weller, The Fratellis and Madness and the unique Orange RockCorps event with Buster Rhymes, The Guillemots and John Legend, where the only way to obtain a ticket was for young people to complete four hours of voluntary work. Other headline performances were delivered by REM, The Killers, Pete Doherty, Jean Michel Jarre, Chris Rea, Katie Melua, Mark Knopfler, The Wombats, Lou Reed, Goldfrapp, Echo and the Bunnymen and Seasick Steve.
The BBC Proms featured virtuoso performers from around the world with highlights from the exciting young conductor Gustavo Dudamel with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Sir Simon Rattle who returned with the Berlin Philharmonic. The annual Classical Brit Awards brought stars including Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman and Steven Isserlis, and The Blackrock Masters Tennis tournament returned with John McEnroe and Pete Sampras. The Royal Albert Hall also promoted hugely successful productions of Tosca and Strictly Gershwin in partnership with Raymond Gubbay and English National Ballet.
For further information, please contact the Royal Albert Hall, Jodie Jenkins on 020 7959 0511 or email jodiej@royalalberthall.com